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A15
news
Friday, June 5, 2015 www.guardian.co.tt Guardian
KALIFA CLYNE
Health Minister Dr
Fuad Khan says there is
no illegal black market
in T&T for corneal trans-
plants.
Khan made the com-
ment in a telephone inter-
view last week, as he
responded to concerns
raised by president of the
T&T Optometrists Asso-
ciation, Nigel St Rose,
regarding the lack of an
eye bank to store donor
corneas.
St Rose was echoing
the concerns of former
Justice Minister Christlyn
Moore regarding trans-
plants at the Scarborough
Hospital.
Khan first denied that
any corneas were being
illegally harvested, noting
that the policy was that
corneas were shipped to
T&T from an eye bank in
Florida.
St Rose also asked why
there was no national
vision and eye care pol-
icy.
"Why is there no
national eye bank? Why
is there no modern
optometry policy? These
steps have been advocated
by the Pan American
Health Organisation
(PAHO) directly and indi-
rectly for several years
now.
"Are there people in
T&T benefiting from the
status quo whilst the
majority of the population
suffers?" St Rose asked.
Khan referred the T&T
Guardian to his contri-
butions in Parliament on
the matter, when in
answering a question
raised by Chaguanas West
MP Jack Warner, Khan
said there were strict
international laws which
governed the process of
harvesting corneal tissue,
screening the tissue, using
the tissue and monitoring
after implantation.
Corneal tissue is pri-
marily taken from
deceased people as it can-
not be harvested while the
donor is alive.
Khan said transplants
at the Tobago hospital
were done using corneas
from an eye bank called
International Sight
Restoration, based in
Tampa, Florida.
"It is the only eye bank
in the United States to
boast of certified ISO
Class 5, 7 and 8 Clean
Rooms, et cetera," he said.
Khan:
No corneal
black market
in T&T